Breastfeeding in Public Still Feels Like a Risk

“Hi, mommies! I’m having this concern with my baby. He doesn’t want to drink breast milk from a bottle. Instead, he just wants to direct latch all the time. I have this amount of breast milk stash in my freezer that still hasn’t been used. (Stocking so that he can have it while i’m away)🥲 Do you have any advice or tips on what we can do or practice so he can get used to using a baby bottle? I need to go back to work soon, and I’m worried that he might not be able to feed while I’m away. At night”

“Basically as the title says - my 10 month old still wakes around 11pm and 3am for a feed - so I thought, combined with her not having the biggest appetite during the day, I might night wean her to try and encourage her solids. Well I’m writing this at 4:16 after spending the last hour trying to settle and soothe her without feeding her. I managed to rock her back to sleep at 11 which I felt so proud of! And now I’ve ruined all this work by feeding her now. I’m just so exhausted. My partner has h”

“Hello! I am a FTM to a 7 month old who is mainly breastfed. He gets one bottle before bed which is when I pump. We had gone on vacation recently and I was not the best about pumping at the same times while away. I would normally pump around 8 or 9 pm when at home since he gets a bottle at 730 pm. While on vacation it kept getting pushed since I was out and about. Usually between 10-12 it ended up being. We have been back for about 2 weeks now and it feels like my body isn't responding to my”

“My baby has just turned 3 months old and we have had a lot of struggle with breastfeeding. In the first few weeks she wasn’t gaining weight adequately and they found out she had a tongue tie (so she wasn’t transferring milk adequately due to this) which was snipped when she was 2 weeks old. Due to the slow weight gain we had to start topping up with formula but she started getting bottle preference during the day but would still feed at night. I try and pump 3/4 times a day and we had a good com”

“I have a six day old, she’s my second baby. first baby did not latch and we wound up bottle feeding pumped milk. feeding this time has started off great but the last day or two (since my milk came in) has gotten much harder. we saw an IBCLC on day 4 when things were still going pretty well, and she said babe was doing great. I had a good supply/slight oversupply with the first and was producinf around 1200 ML per day once I cut it back from 1500 so none of us think there’s a supply issue with th”

“I’ve been working on weaning my baby from nursing. We’ve cut out all day feeds but he still nurses at night. We don’t feed to sleep but do feed at wake ups. I’ve noticed the second half of the night he’ll just stay on for longer and longer times. Is it possible that my supply is just almost gone or he’s just trying to make up for not getting any in the day. submitted by /u/Calieahrens [link] [comments]”

“I’ve been working on weaning my baby from nursing. We’ve cut out all day feeds but he still nurses at night. We don’t feed to sleep but do feed at wake ups. I’ve noticed the second half of the night he’ll just stay on for longer and longer times. Is it possible that my supply is just almost gone or he’s just trying to make up for not getting any in the day. Also side question when night weaning did you do one feed at a time, did you do it like pushing later and later each night? submitted”

“Hey all, I have a three week old and I’ve only been breast feeding so far. The sleep deprivation is getting to me so my LC suggested to pump once in the morning and use that to skip one feed so I can get some sleep. Problem is pumping hurts a lot more and then I can’t fall back asleep so instead of doing a pump in the early morning I want to do that in the evening. Wondering if anyone was able to do a pump only in the evening or afternoon and still keep their supply up? I would use that pump to”

“I’ve been EBF my 9 week old, but about 10 days ago we started introducing one bottle at night so that I can get a 4 hour stretch of sleep while Dad feeds him. A few days ago, he started having issues at some feeds— latching for a minute or 2 but then crying at the nipple and refusing to eat more even though I know he’s hungry. He then happily drinks from a bottle in those moments. I’m doing all the tricks to try to deal with a nursing strike, but as silly as it might sound the whole thing is str”

“Last night my baby slept from 11pm-4am and my breasts started to hurt. She’s starting to sleep through the night, I had to wake her up to feed because my boobs were so sore. How should I manage this when baby starts sleeping longer? Btw, I’m not a fan of pumping and I will certainly not wake up in the MOTN to pump. submitted by /u/Educational_Tune_722 [link] [comments]”

“Hi all, hope you all might be able to help. I’m a FTM Of a two-month-old, nursing and pumping. I fed at 8pm, skipped my midnight pump (husband gives the baby a bottle so I can get some sleep) and woke up for our 4am feed with painfully engorged breasts (I’m kicking myself now ofc, but I was exhausted). My breasts are a little sore today, I’m feeling run down, and I’m worried I might be coming down with mastitis. What can I do, if anything, to try and head this off? Hydrating, pumping more freque”

“My baby is 6 weeks, almost 7 and I’m trying to figure out breastfeeding supply. We breastfeed 90% of the time and give him one bottle every other day. I’ve been waking him up every six hours (when he sleeps through) so my supply doesn’t dip. Should I be? We’ve had no issues with supply so far. Just wondering how people sleep through the night and keep their supply up. submitted by /u/confusedpsych-major [link] [comments]”

“I’m mainly breastfeeding my (just) 7 month old, with maybe one bottle of formula in the day time. The nights are killing me, he will go down in his cot maybe 1.5-2 hours initially and can be settled back in there, but then from 9:30 onwards he’s in the bed with me. He’s feeding every 1-2 hours, this is the only way he will settle. The same happened with my first and I ended up going cold turkey to wean him off around 10 months. The lack of sleep is killing me. I’ve heard switching to formula won”

“My baby is 7 months old and we’ve been combo feeding since she was about 4.5 months. Breastfeeding has always been difficult — she needs a nipple shield and never transferred milk very well, so I started pumping and supplementing with formula when she stopped gaining enough weight. I’m now really exhausted from pumping three times a day, and I’m also dealing with quite a lot of nipple wounds. I would really like to stop pumping, as she doesn’t need my milk nutritionally anymore. The thing is, sh”

“Hi all, just curious if anyone else has noticed really wacky hormone swings during extended nursing? We are still nursing overnight multiple times and then I don’t offer but don’t refuse during the day but the schedule is obviously inconsistent and my kid nurses sometimes for a full session and sometimes just for a minute before getting bored and wandering off. But since we’ve transitioned more fully to solids I’ve gradually had increasingly intense anxiety, fatigue and hormone swings during my”

“Hi everyone. I need some tips! I’m a FTM. My baby is refusing bottles at 9 months despite taking it before, and i go back to work in a few days.😭 For context, I had been breastfeeding exclusively since my LO was born until he was 4 months and I had to go back to work. My mum feeds him using pigeon bottles of my pumped milk when I’m at work from 7am to 6pm. He drinks it happily and is even excited! he hates and has never used a pacifier and when I’ve given it to him he has always gagged. At 8 mo”

“My milk supply dried up at around 10 months I supplemented with formula and continued to try nurse because baby was still getting little breast milk very little I'm talking droplets. We are over 12 months no more formula yet baby still nurses a lot every time I'm sitting down he tries to nurse and there's basically no milk coming out like droplets only. It hurts. There's no milk. He's frustrated at me all the time and gets mad every time I have my shirt on. He constantly want”

“I mostly breastfeed during the day, but we’ll give baby 2 pumped bottles overnight (one before bedtime and one middle of the night feed). My 12 week old is now starting to sleep longer stretches thank god - how do I also go overnight without pumping? I’m really scared of getting mastitis and I also have an oversupply. So for instance I pumped right before bed at 10:30, then woke up at 3:30 kind of engorged. It gets uncomfortable and I have to pump because I get scared of clogged ducts (I had som”

“Hi everyone, I am almost 9 months postpartum. I had a question about maintaining a milk supply but only for overnight nursing, I currently pump twice a day (and sometimes a motn pump) and yield around 12-16oz from that. I have always nursed on demand through the night and his last feed of the day is nursing. Is there a way to completely drop the pumps and only nurse EOD and through the night? Or will dropping all of the pumps completely dry me out? submitted by /u/NoContest6806 [link”

“FTM-EBF-baby is 13w. I'm basically asking to the mama whose babies rejected bottle feeding, if they eventually started to drink from bottle with no issue, including from those they were rejecting. I honestly have tried a lot, not to say EVERYTHING: -I've tried like different brands -change nipple size I tried to feed with my boob next to the bottle -warmed up, almost heat up, the milk -laid down feeding. -having my husband feeding -let her feel hungry for a few minutes... and the list go”

“My LO is almost 4mo. My supply has been low since the very beginning. We’ve been combo feeding, we went from one bottle of formula during the day to mostly formula, one overnight nursing sesh and I wouldn’t pump to get maybe 1 bottle of breastmilk. I will admit I probably could have kept my supply higher had I ate and drank more and pumped more often but it was a lot for me so I slacked off. I’m not insanely attached to breastfeeding but I’m not ready to give it up completely. I would like to ke”

“We are deep in the 4 month sleep regression with my baby girl waking me up to feed every hour from 9pm-6am. I exclusively BF. During some of her feeds she is latching for a bit and then unlatching. Kicking and punching. I’ll try the other boob and it’s the same. I’m wondering if it’s possible to not be able to keep up with her need? I’ve always had more than enough milk so I’d be surprised if this is an issue now. Anyone else deal with this? submitted by /u/Quiet_Sense_2939 [link] &#”

“I'm hoping to get advice on whether I should pump once a night to maintain my supply or if I can enjoy this newfound rest. My LO just turned 6 months and has slept through the night four nights in a row now (about 8pm-530am). I feed her when she wakes up (5-6am) and she sleeps 1-2 hours before waking for the day. The previous month she was usually up 2-3 times a night, and many more times a night prior to that. I am SO excited that she may start sleeping through the night consistently!! Howe”

“My baby is 5 months old so this question is just out of optimism/curiosity, but once baby starts sleeping through the night do I have to pump to maintain my supply? Or do I sleep through the night too? submitted by /u/Fearless_Lake_10 [link] [comments]”

“Baby turns 9 months next week. Has been exclusively breast fed his entire life up until he got sick this past weekend and now will only take bottles of pumped milk. Each day since Sunday he has slowly refused the breast one feed at a time only taking the bottle. Now he will only take the breast when he wakes over night. I’m trying to prepare for if that refusal starts as well. His over night feeds are 9 minutes long, and if I warmed a bottle, pumped to replace, it would turn into being awake for”

“My baby was taking a bottle perfectly fine while exclusively breastfeeding and then completely refused when we hit the 4 month sleep regression. He’s now a little over 4 months old and I go back to work in 5 weeks. He won’t take a bottle or sleep without my boob and I’m so distressed . How do I go back to work? How do I get him to get comfortable with the bottle before I leave . Right now I have practically no help and my husband works all day. He is taking paternity leave when I go back to work”

“For context I’m triple feeding as my supply is low at the moment (still on transitional milk) and what I notice is LO sleeping on boob very often after a few gulps of milk… I’m really struggling with this because I’m wondering if its really hunger vs comfort (clearly she’s not emptying the boob fully at all times) and ask myself if a paci would help the problem? Tbh I don’t want to give a paci bc then I don’t want to have to wean her off.. any advice is welcome!! submitted by /u/Wood”

“Hi everyone, I’ve had severe sleep problems—both during pregnancy and now while breastfeeding—lying awake at night and sometimes taking 3 to 6 hours to fall asleep. Now, the idea of ​​weaning has come up as a possible way to switch off this "alert mode." However, I’ve also read that some women actually develop *worse* sleep problems when they wean. I probably won't be able to avoid it, though, as I might need medication. I’m really sad about this because I actually enjoy breastfeed”

“My baby is almost 3 months old (in less than a week) and she sleeps pretty much all night and naps for 2+ hours in the afternoon. She sleeps from around 9pm-5am, some nights she will wake up earlier and go back down if I nurse her. But lately I’ve been concerned about my milk supply decreasing if she’s sleeping so much. I’m extremely thankful she sleeps pretty much all night but I just worry about my milk supply decreasing. Will I be fine?? I know my supply adjusts to baby’s needs but she’s just”

“My 3.5 mo has begun to sleep from about 10 pm to 4:30 am. He wakes up, nurses from one side and sleeps. I'm producing enough, at times more than he requires right now. Will my supply dip if I don't pump between 10 pm and 4:30 am? Please tell me what to do? He got up yesterday at 4 am, day before at 3 am. He doesn't take bottle feeds now as he prefers to nurse. He is exclusively on breastmilk. What should i do? When do I pump if at all I should. I leak all over the place if i don'”

“My son was initially bottle fed for the first few weeks of his life - long story. Since he was about 3 and a half weeks and had been gaining weight I decided to give breastfeeding another go. I’ve worked so hard, so so hard to get to get my supply up to the point where I have been breastfeeding exclusively for a couple of weeks. We worked up from 50/50, then from one bottle in the morning & one bottle at night, to then just one bottle at night to then just exclusively breastfeeding. I loved”

“8 weeks PP and exclusively nursing for 3 weeks now, I exclusively pumped in the beginning. On my 6 weeks check up, my OB told me baby is gaining weight pretty good but now on baby’s 2 months vaccine I was told by the nurse to feed her more (she sleeps for 4 hours ONCE every night, the rest it’ll be 2-3 hrs) she told me to wake baby up every 2 hrs so I can feed her more and do this until she’s 6 months and started solid, that 4 hours of sleep is the best thing for my mental health and I don’t wan”

“My 6 month old is exclusively breast fed. We’re grateful he took to it, my supply kept up etc etc. He has however, never taken a bottle. And he is unfortunately not a sleeper. I haven’t slept for longer than 4 hours in a row since he was born. I am very much over it. He loves the bottle. We spent a long time making him love it assuming that was the issue. We’re currently using NUK perfect match with size U teats. He happily takes it and puts it in his mouth, he smiles and laughs. He will take th”

“My LO is nearly 5 months old and refuses to latch unless we are laying in bed together. She used to happily nurse anywhere- in public, in common areas of our house, with others around. I have never used a nursing pillow with her and she’s always been content to be in a cradle hold while nursing (with the exception of side laying for night feeds). Her trouble started as intense FOMO a bit over a month ago where she would get distracted if anyone else was around but would eventually still nurse in”

“For context, I have had mastitis 3x with my 4.5 month old baby. I currently pump at 8:30 Pm and then go to bed and then wake him for a dream feed at 1:30 am. I feed him in the morning at 7 ish. I would love to drop the overnight feed and only feed him overnight if he wakes up for it. In the past, when I’ve tried to stretch out overnight feeds/pumps, I have gotten clogged ducts and mastitis. Do you have any advice for either moving the overnight feed back to late evening (say 10 ish), so I could”

“My baby is 4 months old and a few days ago started sleeping through the night. I exclusively breastfeed and make a lot of milk... until a few days ago. Suddenly I produce so little, we have to also give her formula. It makes me so sad because the plan was to breastfeed her until she is one and now it suddenly feels like I can't do it anymore. Did anyone else have this problem? Did you fix it? I have a pump but it suddenly does not suction anymore and it frustrates me so much, so that's n”

“If you continued to breastfeed for a year or more, were you still waking up in the middle of the night to feed or pump so your supply didn't dwindle? Or was there a time you only needed to feed/pump a few times during the day? submitted by /u/charmedgal833 [link] [comments]”

“My son is 14.5 months and loves to nurse, mostly at night. He actually had such a strong nursing preference that he never really took bottles. We are down to nursing twice in the day: after we pick up from daycare and at bedtime (we nurse to sleep). Overnight I have been nursing for comfort at every wake which is very frequent. Typically 2-3 hours but lately he’s had sickness and teething that has made wakes even more frequent. On weekends I nurse to sleep for his nap as well. My husband wants m”

“My baby is 3 months now !! He is refusing any sort of feed during the day but will happily take during night both bottle and breast. Its a struggle to give him anything while he is awake he will just keep crying unless he is half asleep. I have brought that to my doctor they are not concerned as long as he is gaining weight But i am loosing my sanity as he will not sleep longer than two hours during night cause he want to eat. During the day my day is all about to get him to eat I am loosing my”

“My baby is 3 months now !! He is refusing any sort of feed during the day but will happily take during night both bottle and breast. Its a struggle to give him anything while he is awake he will just keep crying unless he is half asleep. I have brought that to my doctor they are not concerned as long as he is gaining weight But i am loosing my sanity as he will not sleep longer than two hours during night cause he want to eat. During the day my day is all about to get him to eat I am loosing my”

“if you have a baby over 12 months how frequently are you breastfeeding and has your supply kept up and/or are you also pumping? i’m thinking we will get to just wake up and before bed nursing but i’m wondering if my supply with dry up without any additional pumping or nursing sessions. submitted by /u/Majestic-Total2537 [link] [comments]”

“My baby will be 3 months in a few days and has started to sleep 9+ hours through the night which I’m very happy about but I’m also really afraid it’s going to cause my supply to drop. We co sleep and she occasionally suckles through the night but i think that’s more of a comfort thing than actually drinking milk so I’m not sure if it counts as demand for the supply and demand. I’m just really scared that her sleep is going to ruin my breastfeeding journey submitted by /u/blondebitche”

“So I want to breastfeed my daughter until at least 2, but I'm thinking of trying to get her out of my bed (🫣) and into her own room once she turns one. Is it possible to keep breastfeeding after 1 *if* she sleeps through the night? submitted by /u/Revolutionary_Oil27 [link] [comments]”

“I hear a lot about “don’t offer, don’t refuse” for weaning but I never “offer” in the first place! My baby always points at my chest and says “muh” (milk). Do they really just stop asking at some point if you never refuse? What I do now is I never refuse at night, but I do refuse sometimes during the day and try to distract him with activities or give snacks, pumped milk, or water. The only reason I refuse to nurse is because my nipples are sore and the areolas are cracked where his teeth sit so”

“Long story/question short: For those of you that only nurse at wake up and bedtime, do you still pump to maintain supply? Or does your body just adjust? This might be all over the place, but I need to vent and try to get some answers. My LO will be 12 months in less than two weeks, and I would like to stop pumping. Ideally, I would like to still nurse morning/night because I like the snuggles and I want my LO to still get nutrients from breastmilk. There’s also a part of me that feels incredibly”

“My 8-month-old has had a bottle aversion for over 4 months . She gradually got to the point where she’d only drink a bottle while drowsy or asleep, and that was the only way we could get enough formula into her. Now she’s started refusing bottles even in her sleep , and I’m feeling really worried. She’s on formula and usually only manages around 600–700ml (20–24 oz) a day. I’m offering three nutritious meals with things like full-fat Greek yoghurt, cheese, beans, lentils, avocado, eggs, fish, ve”

“i started pumping gas just for comfort because my breast felt full even after nursing. i only get about 1/2oz before my breast feel better. i decided to use the pumped milk for nighttime feeds so i just keep it in the bottles. just wondering if i’m allowed to pump directly into the already refrigerated bottle? submitted by /u/Fabulous-Active-6797 [link] [comments]”

“FTM and total newbie. Baby is 8.5 weeks and has been sleeping longer stretches. He goes to bed at 830p and usually wakes up at 1am, 3am and 6am, so I have about 3-4 hours in between feeds. Last night he went to bed at 9pm and I ended up pumping 1oz for 5 min around 1am because I was getting engorged. He was still asleep at 2am so I decided to dream feed him and he woke for a bit but went back to sleep. It’s now 6am, almost 5 hr from when he last ate and I’m getting full/engorged again. I worry a”

“When does the worry stop? My baby girl is 6mo next week. Growing well. Eating purees and already very interested in our food. She nurses every 3hrs during the day and then goes to bed at 8, wants to eat between 2-3am then sleeps until 7 or so. In the beginning I had massive oversupply and it was taking a mental toll after the NICU. When we finally started exclusively nursing instead of pumping I got mastitis. My LC helped me learn to regulate my supply by block feeding around 3mo. Now I usually”

“I'm almost 8 weeks postpartum. Had a rough start breastfeeding but the past couple weeks have been going well. My baby has started sleeping 7 hours overnight and my lactation consultant said I was safe to skip pumping or feeding in that time since she's gaining well. She hasn't had a bottle in over a month because I wanted to focus on her latch but I want to start reintroducing one so doesn't refuse. I've been paranoid about losing my supply. I've got a decent freezer sta”

“6 months of breastfeeding, 3 months of combo feeding here. Usually at night I have my husband give her a combo bottle for a middle of the night feed, and I’ll breastfeed all other possible times (usually once or twice more). When he feeds her the bottle I try to pump. My question is, is it ok to skip pumping when he feeds her the bottle? That would mean getting a 6 hour stretch between bf. Last time I met with an IBLC was 3 months ago and she said that I could do 1-2 6 hour stretches a week, but”

“Baby is 8 months old and exclusively breastfed as baby won't take formula. One bottle of breastmilk is given each evening before bedtime. The thing is, I've never had enough pumped milk to feed the same evening. The milk I pump in the evening is always supplemented with the milk I pump the next morning or throughout the next day. After collecting milk from those pumps, it is used to bottle feed the next day. Baby usually takes about 150ml before bedtime and I used to be able to pump anyw”

“My baby is 3.5 months old. He is exclusively breastfed and gaining weight great. We have been giving him a bottle at least once a week since 1 month old so he has the skill. Literally one day he decided he hated it and completely refused the bottle . Around the same time he began refusing the paci (never was a huge fan but would take it to sleep). I’m not sure if it’s the plastic he hates or what. We’ve tried Dr browns, evenflo, lanonish, Philip avent (in 2 different flows) and he will not suck.”

“Some nights he is sleeping a lot and I can't pump since I don't know if he'll wake up or not since every night is different. Did the supply adjusted without dropping? He generally doesn't ask for milk during the day I just keep offering until he accepts. I haven't seen such a baby. He doesn't dream feed anymore. It's stressing me out. I don't have the time and energy to pump to be honest. I don't know what should I do. I want some reassurance from other mother”

“I have a 6 week old who’s feeding quite literally every hour. Morning and night. Will scream his head off for 1 oz. We breastfeed and he gets 1 bottle a day. Is this normal?? My husband gets extremely frustrated because baby won’t calm down for him, really only me. He thinks baby is colicky but I don’t. I’m able to calm him down, it may take a minute but it’s possible. It just seems like we maybe get 5-10 minutes of where he’s not crying while awake? If that. He’s up every hour at night to feed.”

“Baby is 3 weeks and I’m starting to pump to have a milk supply on hand and more flexibility with help feeding with my husband. I have a spectra S1. I started pumping last night after our evening feed and did a session this morning after our morning feed. I’m still breast feeding this was just after the feeds. Should I keep pumping after every feed or start slow and just pumping after our morning and evening feeds? I’m getting 1.5 oz total after each session. submitted by /u/Seapaisle”

“Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice from parents who have gone through something similar. My baby is 5 months old. I have been mostly expressing breast milk and feeding him by bottle , but I really want to transition him back to breastfeeding and eventually stop using bottles. He was latching a couple of days ago, but now he refuses the breast. When I offer it, he cries. I tried different positions, including a laid-back, swing position, but he sometimes just chews on the nipple instead of sucki”

“Heya I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding my 6 month old, but need to get her on the bottle as I’m going back to work soon and she’s starting daycare. She either refuses the bottle, or bites it a few times then starts spitting out the contents. Does anyone have advice or some magic wisdom on how to get baby to take the bottle? Techniques tried: Breastmilk and two different types of formula. Spoon feeding Sippy cup Bottle with handles she can hold Three different sizes and shaped teats Two differe”

“EBF 7 month old who gets one middle of night bottle by dad. For the past 2 weeks, he’s been nursing a lot more quickly (5-10 mins), which I’ve read happens as they’re older. However, I always start him on the right and he drinks for a few mins then won’t relatch. He actively turns away. But then eagerly latches onto the left side. At any point during that nursing session, he won’t take the right. For his bedtime feed, I was concerned he wasn’t full enough for bed so after breastfeeding as normal”